La Liga summer transfers - pt 2

     Oh yes, transfer news lovers. Part two of the rip-roaring, gum-peeling transfer round-up is here. I don't dabble in transfer gossip as I'm a QPR fan and have been subjected to a few hundred too many made up stories over my lifetime to believe any tittle-tattle whatsoever. In my time this has included a photo of Roberto bleeding Baggio leaving Loftus Road, purportedly after having signed. Needless to say, utter transfer bollockery :\ So there, that's why you're getting new news and old news rather than all the juicy goss that's floating around the top echelons of the interweb thanks to imagination-merchants such as the Daily Mail...

Getafe

Getafe Yoda have signed

     The Madrid side was another one of many to finish 'comfortably' mid-table, while realistically ending up hovering only 3 points above relegated Osasuna. After losing 'keeper Moyà to Atlético, they've done the same as their cross-town rivals and strengthened between the sticks with two gloved men. 'Strengthened' may be a bit of a strong word though, seeing as they've brought in Valencia #2 Vicente Guaita and lower-league veteran Jonathan López from Greek side Veria.

     In midfield, manager Cosmin Contra has borrowed a couple of geezers he's heard good things about - Míchel from Valencia and Colombian Fredy Hinestroza from La Equitad in his homeland. The most exciting news for Azulones fans is that the Romanian gaffer has managed to persuade a genuinely stellar name to join, going back to his homeland to pinch Yoda from Astra Giurgiu - Karim Yoda. Much merriment will there be, and many riffs on his name too, no doubt, over the season coming. French midfielder of Ivorian descent he is.

Granada

     Wily gaffer Joaquín Caparrós has been busy over the summer months (while the rest of us were watching the World Cup) in a bid to strengthen the side and improve on last season's 15th place finish. He's lost the services of Yacine Brahimi following his impressive showing in the Shiny Cup in Brazil, the Algerian attacker joining Porto for EUR6.5m.

Babin & Larsson - friends already

     Caparrós has yet to strengthen el Graná's front line, but has added across the midfield, bringing in one-time Sweden international Daniel Larsson from Valladolid along with a trio of loans. These are Javi Márques from Mallorca, Juan Carlos - who has been at Braga since 2011 but never played a game for them - and Abdoul Sissoko, who similarly has been at Udinese since 2011 and not played once. Oier Olazábal has been brought in from Barcelona for an unspecified amount to provide competition between the sticks and Martinique international Jean-Sylvain Babin from Alcorcón to do likwise among the centre-backs. Dani Benítez has been on loan at the club from Udinese since 2009, but may find playing time harder to come by this season after testing positive for cocaine earlier in the year. At least this goes some way to explaining his volatile behaviour on the pitch.

Levante

Painted that himself - Martins

     The Valencian side finished tenth last season, well clear of the drop zone but a disappointing end considering their improbable European push the previous year. Manager José Luis Mendilibar has not been particularly busy so far, with more outgoings than incomings, but those he has added to the squad could serve the team well.

     He's loaned in defensive midfielder Víctor Pérez from Valladolid, but it's with the permanent signings where excitement could lie. After impressing on loan at Vitória Setúbal in Portugal last season with 15 goals in 38 games, Brazilian striker Rafael Martins has joined from Audax Sao Paulo. He's been a bit hit and miss over his career thus far but could prove to be a good addition. Further to that, les Granotes have secured the scribble of former promising midfielder Jaime Gavilán from Getafe on a free.

Málaga

     New manager Javi Gracia will be expected to improve upon the team's 11th place finish last term, but it's anyone's guess how much money he'll be given to do that. Owner Sheikh Abdulla al-Thani bought the club in 2010 and made big noises about rivaling the Big Two, but appeared to get cold feet as soon as the team was eventually put out of the Champions League in its debut season

Loving the flag - Luis Alberto

by Borussia Dortmund at the quarter-final stage.

     Málaga's main problem last season was finding the back of the net, given that even the relegated sides all nearly scored as many as them. Little has been done to lighten the burden on Roque Santa Cruz's shoulders though. Luis Alberto proved a massive disappointment upon joining Liverpool last season but has been loaned in partly to do that job for los Boquerones. Portugal U20 winger Ricardo Horta has joined from Vitória Setúbal and the back-line has been reinforced with the additions of powerhouse mini Ivorian left-back Arthur Boka from Stuttgart on a free and Roberto Rosales from Twente on the other side of the defence - the latter being the very first Venezuelan to score in the Champions League, fact fans.

More fans expected behind him at the
start of the new season - Ochoa

     The really big news for los Boquerones though is the signing of Mexican 'keeper/saviour Guillermo Ochoa, who was one of the stars of the World Cup. And on a free if you please! I do wonder, though, whether talks had been going on previously. I had thought it extremely strange that Málaga elected to let Willy go to Man City for EUR8m given how integral he'd been to the team, but if they had already been looking at Ochoa then the move starts to make sense. Softly softly and all that.

Rayo Vallecano

     Los Vallecanos finished just behind their more moneyed southern counterparts last season, but every year promises to be a struggle for the little working-class club. Frankly, money is always an issue. Every year they end up having to sell or even let go players to raise funds, and every year loan in a load to make up the numbers. Will any of this year's crop of newbies be the next Michu? Only time, and a shitload of goals, will tell.

Kakuta's latest new shirt

     Notably fewer loan transfers in this time around, possibly due to better players being available on the free transfer scene. The only incoming loanee (so far at least), is Gaël Kakuta from Chelsea, who's Shirley another one of those that's destined to never actually get a proper run with his actual employers (6 games in 5 years and counting). Defensively, manager Paco Jémez has added Antonio Amaya from Real Betis, who comes in for his second stint with the Madrid side, Jorge Morcillo from Recreativo and Diego Aguirre from Toledo, all without any money changing hands whatsoever.

     Ahead of them will feature much-travelled Ghanian Derek Boateng, who joins on a free after failing to impress at Fulham, the interestingly-monikered Jozabed from Jaén and the vastly underwhelming Alejandro Pozuelo, who joins from Swansea for an undisclosed fee. I pray they didn't actually pay much more than his plane fare. Real Madrid Castilla winger Quini has also joined on a free, although Rayo may have possibly stumped up his bus fare across town.

40 goals a season? Easy - Manucho

     Forward Álex Moreno (from Mallorca) is not the only addition to the attacking line-up. Pull your socks up and prepare to have them blown off - 40-goal-a-season striker Manucho has arrived! On a free, no less! The Manchester United super-flop promised Valladolid fans 40 goals per year upon signing a five-year deal there in 2009, and then promptly went out and notched just 5 over his whole first season. In fact the egg-faced Angolan only managed 14 in his whole time at Estadio Nuevo José Zorrilla. Sounds like the African Nicklas Bendtner.

Real Madrid

     In the exciting three-horse race last season that I can't see being repeated again for an extremely long time (the Primera División never goes right to the last day!), Real Madrid blinked first and ended up finishing third. Out of the three contenders at the end of the season, los Blancos have lost the least amount of talent, with just Nuri Sahin completing his move back to Borussia Dortmund for EUR7m after last season's loan and, more regretfully, Álvaro Morata joining fellow Spaniard Fernando Llorente in the Juvenus front line. There's two ways of looking at this; one could say Real have managed to wangle EUR20m for a permanent sub; or one could be of the opinion that they've lost a promising, home-grown talent before he'd matured into the footballer he's capable of becoming. I'd go with the latter.

James - pronounced James

     Of course, not much needs to be said of Real's completed purchases this summer, so I won't. World Cup golden boot winner and player of the tournament (the whole world and his dog knows that accolade should never have gone to Messi) James - pronounced James - Rodríguez became the fourth-most expensive player of all time upon completion of his move from Monaco for EUR80m. A truly excellent signing, but I struggle to see how Ancelotti's eyebrow will manage to fit all his attacking pieces together even if, as expected, Ángel di María is moved on. That still leaves Isco, who I would be loath to lose. Perhaps the best thing for the Andalucían would be a loan move, but where would he play next season - none of Real's attackers are exactly old.

"Watch me fuck this out the
stadium" - Kroos

     Other outfield signing Toni Kroos came for a more palatable EUR20m, but he was only 'cut-price' because his contract runs out at the end of the season. So still a pretty expensive transfer. The German had the best passing stats at the World Cup, and will be seen as a successor to Xabi Alonso. Nevertheless, the holding midfield role is now well overstocked with those two able to play there in addition to Asier Illarramendi, Luka Modric and Sami Khedira, the latter of whom at least is sure to move on.

     Ancelotti's eyebrow even has the problem of being overstocked in goal. He accepts that last season's time-share between binman Diego López and national icon, hero and increasingly butter-fingered Iker Casillas didn't work, and has come out and said San Iker will be his #1 this year. This sounds like López will be on his way out, but what it means for the incoming Keylor Navas is anyone's guess. EUR10m for one of the standout 'keepers at the World Cup is no small change, and the Costa Rican will surely not be happy if, after his excellent competition and leaving behind top spot at Levante, he finds himself warming the bench for large swathes of the season.

Real Sociedad

     The Txuriurdin finished in the Europa League places last time out after scoring more goals than anyone outside the top five. Unfortunately, as we are seeing domestically with Southampton, any measure of success for 'smaller' clubs means their best players get cherry-picked by bigger fish

A painful sight for Sociedad eyes - Griezmann

with more money. Twas ever thus. This is how Sociedad find themselves shorn of their stars from both ends of the pitch. French wing wizard Antoine Griezmann has been a class player for a number of seasons and has continued to improve, leading up to his starring role for les Bleus at the World Cup this summer. Last season was his best yet, helping drag Sociedad into Europe by scoring 16 goals in 34 league games. He will prove nigh-on impossible to replace. At the other end, the excellent Claudio Bravo has been snapped up by bigger fish Barcelona for EUR15m after an impressive season and more than solid showing at the World Cup for Chile. Although Swiss striker Haris Seferovic looked good in Brazil, he is not such a big loss for the Basques - he only managed to bag 2 goals in 24 games in the Primera before joining Eintracht Frankfurt.

"Hang on, let me finish getting changed"
- Finnbogason

     Sociedad have taken a punt on Gerónimo Rulli to replace Bravo. Not only does he possess a most excellent name for a goalkeeper, he is young and comes on loan from hometown club Estudiantes, in La Plata. They've also brought in a proven goal-getter up front, Alfreð Finnbogason joining from Heerenveen for EUR8m. The signing of the Icelandic international could really go either way, as although he's scored 53 goals in 65 games since first pulling on the shirt in 2012, we've seen similar numbers before from the Eredivisie - Afonso Alves anyone? Still, he was the league's top scorer with 29 in 32 last year for a team that finished fifth so there may be hope for him. In fact, he was the continent's third-highest scorer - behind only Luis Suárez and CR7 across Europe's top leagues. QPR flop Esteban Granero has also joined after somehow impressing enough while on loan last season. El Pirata had apparently shown incredibly high fitness levels while in pre-season mode back in West London, which will come as good news to Sociedad after he suffered a cruciate ligament injury for them in the Champions League last season which kept him out for around half a year.

Sevilla

     Los Nervionenses finished in fifth last time out, but were assured of a Europa League place regardless after winning the trophy, beating Benfica on penalties. Losing Ivan Rakitic will be a massive blow for the Seville team - he really was absolutely instrumental in everything good about the side last year. They've also lost Diego Perotti, the Argentine moving to Italy to join Genoa. Barcelona B forward Denis Suárez has joined on loan as part of the deal which took Rakitic the other way, but the former Man City youth is still a prospect, and Sevilla will be relying more on the other, more senior players they've brought in, of which there are a fair few I think it's fair to say.

Synchronised crouching - Aspas & Barbosa

     While he was a huge player for Almería, Aleix Vidal will not be the man to fill the boots of Rakitic in the Sevilla midfield. The tall Catalan is more a winger than a creator, but is a shrewd acquisition nonetheless, especially at only EUR3m. Adding steel to the midfield will be Polish deep-sitter Grzegorz Krychowiak, who joins from Stade Reims for EUR5m, while adding the same in the back-line will be Alejandro Arribas, who shuffles across from relegated Osasuna on a free. The club have also taken up the option to make Daniel Carriço's loan move from Reading permanent for EUR1.8m. Manager Unai Emery has also strengthened in the goalkeeping department, Mariano Barbosa joining on a free from Las Palmas to provide competition to incumbent Beto. Emery also moved early to secure the loan signing of Liverpool misfit Iago Aspas. This is a no-risk move seeing as it's just a loan, but if the manager manages to coax the same performances out of the onion-headed forward that he used to give at Celta Vigo then he will provide added goals up front. Big 'if' though, considering the player's shoddy performances on Merseyside.

Valencia

     Los Che finished a whole ten points adrift of the final European places last term, a far cry from their former position as the yearly winner of the 'other league' behind Real Madrid and Barcelona. New manager Nuno, in just his second top job, will be tasked with breaking back into the top echelons of the league, which may prove tough considering the strengthening carried out at rival clubs and the monetary situation at the Mestalla. It will not help him that senior players have been sold over his head, full-backs Jérémy Mathieu and Juan Bernat leaving for Barcelona and Bayern Munich respectively, while defensive monster Ricardo Costa has left by mutual consent, taking up the offer of a final payday with Qatari club Al-Sailiya.

Seemingly happy to be back in Spain - Rodrigo

     In the hope of adding more goals up top, Nuno has bought Rodrigo from Benfica - or more pertinently from private company Meriton Capital Limited, to whom the Portuguese side sold 100% of the striker's economic rights back in January for EUR30m. Less complicated were the moves which saw Argentine winger Rodrigo De Paul move to Valencia for a reported EUR4.7m from Racing Club in his homeland, and Portugal U21 midfielder André Gomes switch on loan from Benfica. Another drawn out move has seen Argentina centre-back Nicolás Otamendi finally link up with the squad following his EUR12m move from Porto at the start of the year - he's been on loan at Atlético Mineiro for the past six months.

Villarreal

Good one, I see what you did there
- Jonathan dos Santos

     On its first season back in the Primera División following a year slumming it one step below, Villarreal really impressed and ended up finishing in sixth, thereby qualifying for Thursday nights on Channel 5. They were good value for it as well, not dipping outside the top 7 places once throughout the entire season. El Submarino Amarillo seem determined to improve even on this lofty position, and have set about strengthening the squad with a host of players.

     Up front, Argentina U20 attacker Luciano Vietto has joined from Racing Club, a relative coup seeing as the youngster was previously fancied by the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool. Russian winger Denis Cheryshev has joined on loan from Real Madrid B while Serbian right-back Antonio Rukavina moves from Valladolid on a free. Moves were set in place early for the transfer of two prospects from Barcelona as well; midfielder Javier Espinosa joining on a season-long loan from the B team and, in a happy story to end the round-up, Jonathan dos Santos joining brother Giovani once more after EUR2m passed hands.

    

So there you have it, that's all the transfers up to date, with as much correct info about price etc as I could muster given my notoriously short attention-span. No doubt there will be twice as many transfers again completed by the time the window is carefully closed - most definitely not slammed shut - but there's nowt I can do about that. Still, the fledgling season is but two weeks away, so chin up! If you're lucky I may do a bit of predicting ahead of the new season - something that would no doubt come back and bite me on the arse come season's end when it turns out I've predicted the table completely upside down.